The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative

News on stem cell research

Cord blood stem cells found to be pluripotent

A recent publication (July 19, 2004) in the Journal of
experimental Medicine,1 a premier medical journal, announced the
discovery that cord blood (blood from the umbilical cord of infants)
contains cells that are pluripotent (have the ability to develop
into virtually every kind of cell/tissue type). The researchers have
shown the ability of these cells to grow bone, cartilage,
hematopoietic (blood), neural (brain, spinal cord, nerves), liver
and heart tissue. These cells have been grown in culture to produce
up to 1,000,000,000,000,000 cells (the total number of cells found
in 10 average adults) while still retaining their
pluripotent potential.

One of the main arguments of those who favor destruction of human
embryos is that adult stem cells (such as those from cord blood) are
incapable of producing all the cell types needed for cell-based
therapies. This study destroys the myth that adult stem cells cannot
provide the therapies needed to treat the major catastrophic
diseases of our time. The use of cord blood from newborns allows us
to develop cell-based therapies without using morally and ethically
reprehensible methods that are called for in Proposition 71.

Vote NO on Proposition 71!

Dr. Keith Black - No plans to use embryonic stem cells

Dr. Keith Black, renowned brain surgeon from Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center in Los Angeles, commented on stem cell research at an October
24 brain tumor conference. Dr. Black is using adult stem cells to
treat malignant glioma. He indicated that they have no plans to use
embryonic stem cells because there are too many problems and he
thought them unlikely to work. Of course, Prop 71 funds only
embryonic stem cell research and does not fund adult stem
cell research, which shows the most promise.

Vote NO on Proposition 71!

Stem cells stop mice going blind

An injection of adult stem cells saved the sight of mice
who would otherwise have gone blind, researchers reported this week.2
The study raises the prospect that some forms of human blindness
might be treated with cells from a patient's own bone marrow. The
research team focused on a group of eye diseases called retinitis
pigmentosa, in which cells in the retina break down over time,
causing gradual loss of vision and sometimes blindness. There is
currently no good treatment for the condition, which affects around
one in 3,500 people.
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